How to be Certified Insane
by FlorenceBradbury
Summary: (COMPANION TO HEAVY IN YOUR ARMS) Growing up is pretty rough. Having a mental issue and being in an asylum doesn't really make it any easier. A series of one-shots about the teens of Half-Blood Recovery Center. *username formerly XxbethamphetaminexX*
1. Calypso: Fantasies

**Hi! So this is a companion fic to ****_Heavy in your Arms_****, so if you haven't read that, some of the stuff in here won't make sense to you. Enjoy!**

Calypso

For as long as I live, I'll never forget my first love.

I was in 5th grade, but I acted like I was in high school. I was _the_ popular kid back then, and without a doubt the prettiest. Of course, it wasn't a very hard feat considering my dull neighborhood, but it was a fact. Boys and girls alike fawned over my flowing caramel hair and almond eyes. Parents and teacher praised my intelligence and athleticism. I was a shining star and people loved me. But not as much as I loved people.

I loved one person in particular. I met him when we were partners for a science project. He came strolling up to me with a happy glint in his eyes. His dark hair bounced when he walked and his grin was so bright it was almost infectious.

"Hey, you're Calypso, right?" he asked. I was offended; everybody should've known who _I_ was.

"Duh, genius. Who _else _would I be," I shot back.

"Alright, no need to get defensive," he reasoned while holding up his hands in a "don't kill me" gesture, but he didn't lose any of the humor in his voice. "Well I'm Odysseus," he laughed, despite my behavior, "And I'm a new kid, by the way. I just transferred in the middle of the year." I stop glaring at him and smiled apologetically.

"Oh. Well I'm Calypso Eleni. Sorry for being mean, it's just that most people around here know me," I muttered, embarrassed.

"It's no big deal. So, you're my partner right?" I nodded.

"Cool, so what are we working on?"

"We're identifying the parts that make up plant and animal cells," I said. I didn't really care, though. I figured I would never use this in the real world, so it didn't matter to me. Besides, I was focusing more on how Odysseus's eyes were such a deep brown, and how his hair fell in beautiful black ringlets. He looked Grecian, like me, and I felt a rush of homesickness for Ogygia, the little Greek island where I was born **(A/N: Unfortunately, Ogygia doesn't exist :( It really should)**. And while he was focused on differentiating a cell wall and a cell membrane, I was focused on making him mine by the end of the month.

It took time, wit, and various trips to the local mall, but to make a long story short, I did.

We were such a cute couple. There were few times when we weren't together. People talked about us all the time, they said we were the school's power couple. To my surprise, I didn't really care. Usually I would hang on to every bit of gossip I heard, but for whatever reason, I ignored it. If they said that we looked horrible together and we should've broken up, I still would've dated him. I would steal him away from his stupid friends every day and we would hang out together. I didn't even care what we did, as long as he was with me. When we were together, the world changed from a place of boredom and mediocrity to a wonderland of love and magic and glee, and any bad thing that was happening just floated away. I thought about him constantly, I even dreamed about him. And when he wasn't with me the entire world just went black and empty, like nothing mattered. I told my parents that I was in love. They told me I was just young and silly.

"Girls at your age don't fall in love," my father told me.

"Your father's right, honey," Mother added, "You just think you're in love, but it's just your hormones. It'll wear off eventually." She patted my head and went back to the previous conversation.

It didn't wear off. I loved him more than life itself.

One day, about a month after we started dating, I pulled him from his idiot guy friends like I always did. But something was off. He looked angry, or at least annoyed. But I brushed it off. People aren't annoyed with people they loved. And he loved me; he must've loved me because I loved him.

I dragged him to our special place by the tall oak tree in the park. We always met up over there and did _whatever._ But Odysseus looked a little uncomfortable that day.

"Callie, we need to talk," he said. Back then, I didn't know that "we need to talk" was code for "I'm about to break up with you", so I just sat there, expectantly, with a grin on my face.

"'Bout what?"

"Well, you're a little, um," he said, searching for the right word, "overbearing."

"What do you mean?" By this point some part of me knew what was happening, but the rest of me just couldn't comprehend it. The grin on my face was still there.

"Well, you know how you pull me away from my friends and stop girls from talking to me?"

"Yeah. But that's what I'm supposed to do!" I argued. "We love each other; that's what people do when they're in love!"

"God Calypso, we're not in love! We're not even in middle school yet, Callie! Get a grip! I mean, God, you're so obsessive, just calm down for a minute."

The world shook. I could feel everything die down. The sky got darker. The grass got duller. Anything and everything with even a hint of beauty became _revolting_.

"What did you say?" I whispered through the omnipresent grin that refused to leave my face.

"We. Are. Not. In. _Love_. Calypso!" he shouted, "Get that through your head! I can't take it anymore, I'm _done_."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," I laughed. But it wasn't a real laugh; it was almost demented, complete with tears running down my ever-grinning face. My mind was spinning with his words. _We. Are. Not. In. Love. Calypso!_ How could he have said that? That's not what was supposed to happen. We were supposed to be together forever. Forever means _without stopping. _Forever means _until the very end. _

"Please," I cried/begged, "Please don't do this to us! You're making a mistake you can't do this! Please stop! Just stop!" I jumped out to him and grabbed his legs. He kicked and me and actually yelled for help. But I held on to him because he was my _lifeline._ And my lifeline was trying to get rid me.

When he finally did, he stood up quickly and glared down at me with disgust. "Jesus, Callie," Odysseus snorted, "You're such a _freak_."

XXXX

That was my breaking point.

I would like to say that I stayed strong and held my head up with dignity, but I didn't. I died that day. The playful, innocent Calypso was gone. Odysseus told the whole school about my "freak out", and for the first time in my life, I wasn't popular. Instead of looking me with envy, girls looked at me with a mixture of pity and triumph. Instead of looking at me with longing, boys looked at me with disgust. They called it "The Fall of Queen Calypso."

I wasn't really mad at Odysseus, though. I still loved him, and I understood him in a sense. I guess I would've been a little freaked out, too. I often made up elaborate plans to get him back, but I never carried them out or anything. Just thinking about anything related to Odysseus made me feel warm and special again. He was still a constant character in my fantasies and I waited for him to come back to me.

I did other things, too. Every time I woke up, I would go to the bathroom and brush my hair 50 times per section. Then I washed my hands 5 times and put 2 coats of lotion on them. I took showers on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays, and every other Saturday for 30 minutes each. I only ate every other day, which caused me to lose a lot of much-needed fat. Everything I did fell into a carefully thought-out routine. I felt like I had more control that way.

Another activity I did to pass the time was look for Odysseus. I convinced myself that he was still around, and I would try to find him the weirdest places. I looked in cupboards, under desks, in sinks, on the roof, and more. It wasn't irrational; Odysseus was very clever, and could've hidden almost anywhere. Whenever I was bored or sad or lonely, I would go out and search for my sweetheart. I turned it into a game where the princess went to save her prince. The only thing that kept me sane was the belief that Odysseus still loved me and would come back.

XXXX

After two months of doing this, my parents began to notice my behavior. They took me to a psychologist who said I had OCD. He gave me special pills and therapy session dates. It didn't really bother me. OCD was just a way to label the love I held inside of me. But this wasn't enough for my parents; they wanted a fresh start for us.

"Wouldn't it be nice to start over, sweetie?" my mother said, "You could go to a new school and make friends. With your new medication and the therapist we found, everything will go back to normal. Don't you want that, honey?"

"You used to be so popular and happy," my father cut in, "Now your grades are slipping and you act like your family just died. Maybe a clean slate will fix that."

So I was pulled out of school and we moved away. But I couldn't leave Odysseus without saying goodbye. So on my last day of school, I went up to tell him.

"Hi," I mumbled shyly. I had never been shy before, so this was a new feeling.

"Um, hey Calypso," I said. Then he focused on the wall in front of him, avoiding my eyes.

"I just wanted to say that I forgive you," I said. I didn't want him to think I was angry with him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," he said. Hope blossomed inside of me; if he felt bad then maybe he regretted breaking up with me! I _knew_ he still loved me, I knew it! "I shouldn't have been so harsh and told the whole school and all that. It was really mean and I apologize. I was being a real jerk to you."

"Oh. It's no problem, actually. But thanks for apologizing, it really means a lot." This is it, I thought. This is when he'll take me back. We'll manage a long-distance relationship and then meet after college and get married and have two beautiful children one boy and one girl and live happily ever after forever and ever and _ever_. Finally.

"Hey, have you seen Emilee?" he said. The fantasy I carefully repaired cracked a little bit again.

"Uh, no," I said cautiously, "Why do you ask?"

"Well we're going out and I wanted to meet up with her. I hope that's okay with you since we did break up months ago," he said sheepishly. The fantasy shattered again. Its fragments littered the floor of my heart. I would have to sweep them up later.

"Oh. Um, yeah, it's fine. It doesn't really matter anyway since I'm moving tomorrow."

"Wow, you are? Oh, Callie, I'll miss you," Odysseus said with actual disappointment evident in his voice. He pulled me in for a brief, friendly hug. "Goodbye," he whispered softly in my ear. Then he walked off. He saw Emilee, an annoying faux-rich girl with bleached-blonde highlights, and went over to her. But as he did, he looked over his shoulder and waved goodbye with a slightly sad smile.

In that moment, I knew Odysseus still had feelings for me, and the daydreams fixed themselves in a flash.

And even when my family and I drove away from our bleak little town, I knew we would be together eventually.

**So I hope you enjoyed reading this, because for whatever reason I really enjoyed writing it. People were complaining on _Heavy in your Arms_ that my chapters were too short, so I hope this makes up for it!**

**BTW, I'm probably going to change the cover, the title, or both. If have any ideas on either, PLEASE tell me in a review!**

**R&R&R!**


	2. Reyna: Words

**Sup?**

**This story won't be updated that often, by the way. I'll write this when I feel like writing it. But it might continue even when ****Heavy in Your Arms**** is over depending on how long that takes.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not even going to say it. **

Reyna

I used to 3 words.

They used to be my

**Friends.**

I would **sing** songs and bring **joy** to the people of **La Perla**.

(That's where I was born

It's like the Puerto Rican version of Oakland City.)

The people called me **Angelita,**

"Little Angel",

And I would bring **joy** and **song** to the people.

_Please sing for us, _Angelita_ We'll pay you, we promise_

They did. They paid a LOT.

Considering.

How else was a poor, baby slum girl going to make $?

I could've done what

Hylla did,

But she was always trying to **protect** me.

We had no mother (**Cocaine** is a dangerous substance, especially when you have **AIDS**.)

We had no father (Fathers. Mom was kind of a **whore**, and our fathers were **two of a thousand**.)

We only had

**Each other.**

Hylla wouldn't have let me do her dangerous work.

**And I didn't want to.**

(I didn't want to end up like our mom.

Neither did Hylla,

But what else could she do?)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

11 years old.

**That's how old I was when he told me.**

Pablo, Hylla's boyfriend(ish), came to my house (tiny shack with drift wood pieces for a roof) with a **sad face**

Lo siento_, I'm sorry Your sister's gone, _Angelita_ She had the virus, she did the drug __Hylla__ just wasn't strong enough_

(**Died just like Mother did**)

I lost touch.

My sister/mother/friend/partner-in-crime

**GONE.**

Only the good die young, I suppose.

But I **couldn't forget** her,

So I honored her.

_Remember, Rey, words have special powers Your singing brings us food and clothes, that's how powerful they can be Hold on to them and you'll be fine You're such a smart girl You'll do great things, be a better person than I am I believe in you_

So I did.

I held on to my **special power.**

**My** voice,

**My** words,

Were all **mine**.

Secret, precious gemstones hidden under my tongue and in the back of my throat

And like all treasures,

**I kept mine protected.**

Locked in a chest far, far away.

(I buried the key with Hylla)

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Armando,

Hylla's **boss **

Heard about what happened.

**(Of course he did)**

_I can make you an offer, Angelita _

I was tempted with pretty words

_You are _una cosa bonita_, a beautiful thing, indeed _

Too **sad and distracted** to catch any **real meaning**

_People in America would pay a lot of money for a girl like you_

**Money? **Money was good.

**America? **The Land of the Free? Dreamland?

**I had to say yes. **

On one condition,

I didn't have to speak.

Not one word.

**So I got bored and decided to try something new. I thought it was okay, but I want to know what you guys thought.**

**Credit to ** .purple** for title inspiration. **

**Don't forget to read the main fic ****Heavy in Your Arms!**

**R&R&R!**


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